Kohlhaas Family circa 1902. Ida with brother George (1888-1951) in back of father, August "Gus" (1853-1928), and mother, Margaret (Stolz) Kohlhaas.This is the only picture I have of Ida's father, Gus. I don't know much about him other than that he was born in Illinois on 22 Jul 1853 and
that his father, Johann Kohlhaas, was a German immigrant (legend has it that he was from Prussia). Gus' mother's name was Mary Ziebold and that's all I know about her.

The 1910 Federal Census showed the family living
in a mortgage free home that they owned at 318 5th Street in Mt Carmel, IL. Gus' occupation was listed as "laborer". In 1920, when Gus was 67, they were still living in the same house and Gus' occupation was listed as "pool room janitor".
Gus died on 5 Jun 1928 in San Bernardino, CA.

Ida's mother, Margaret (Stolz) Kohlhaas (1858-1936). Ida's mother was born Margaret Stolz on 17 May 1858 in Wabash County, Illinois. Her father, George Stolz, was born on 18 Feb 1817 in Kutzenhausen, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. He immigrated to
this country with his parents arriving in New York after a 51 day sea voyage in 1828. He married Margaret Hinkle 1n 1841 and they had 12 children of which Margaret was the 10th born.

L to R: Ida's grandmother, Margaret (Hinkle) Stolz (1821-1891) and mother, Margaret (Stolz) Kohlhaas (1858-1936). Margaret Hinkle was born 1 Feb 1821 in Lexington (Davidson County), North Carolina. I've traced her roots back 3 generations to the marriage of Peter Hinkle
(1743-1775) and Salome Hartman (1749-1776) both born in Germantown, PA.
Her paternal grandmother was Amelia Clodfelter (1778-1861) who married Peter Hinkle, Jr. (1776-1833), both born in Davidson County, North Carolina. Her mother was Elizabeth Wilson (1796-1824) who married Peter Hinkle III (1796-1861):
they were both also born in Davidson County, North Carolina.

The Hinkle family may have been part of the original Moravian community that was established in the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina in the mid 18th century. Some of the Hinkle family appear to have lived in the Lexington and Abbot's Creek districts of present day Davidson County, North Carolina. In 1830 Peter Hinkle III and his family
emigrated from North Carolina to to help found a new Moravian Church in the "West Salem" area of Illinois (Edwards County). The journey took the family 47 days by a team drawn wagon. Margaret was 9 years old.

In 1841 Margaret married George Stolz (an immigrant Alsacian Lutheran) and had 12 children with him. George and Margaret were farmers as was most of the Stolz family. George's parents were Johann Adam (1786-1865) and Maria Eva (Jordi) (1783-1860) Stolz, both from Alsace and known to all as Adam and Eve.
In the old country they had been shepherds and in Illinois they became landed farmers.

Margaret (Hinkle)
Stolz died on 25 May 1891 in Wabash County, Illinois, (near West Salem) and is buried in Jordan Creek Cemetery in that county, as is her husband, George, and many others of the Stolz family.

On January 5, 1910, Ida (31) married Frank Bernard Hill (26) in Mt. Carmel, Wabash County, IL.
They had two children: George Eugene Hill, born December 17, 1911, and Mary Lucille Hill, born September 17, 1914. Both children were born in Mt Carmel, IL.
Frank was employed as a Locomotive Engineer working for the New York Central Railroad in Illinois.

At about the same time that Ida married Frank, her brother George Elmer Kohlhass (1888-1951) married Pearl McCafferty (1892-1916). George and Pearl had two daughters, Donna Marquerite, born February 6, 1912, and Mary Helen, born January 15, 1915, both born in Wabash County, IL.
Pearl died in 1916 when Mary Helen was just a baby and Donna was only 4. The girls were looked after during much of their childhood by Ida so the children were more like siblings than first cousins.

Ida with her family in San Bernardino, CA, circa 1922.
L to R: Son Gene, Ida, daughter Mary Lucille, Hill, niece Mary Helen, mother Margaret, niece Donna, Kohlhaas.
Sometime in the early 1920's the entire Kohlhass family moved out to San Bernardino, CA. The family operated a chicken ranch on 19th Street east of Mt Vernon Avenue in San Bernardino. Evidently, this life didn't suit Frank and he returned (in the late 20's?) to his job as an Engineer on the New York Central Railroad back in Illinois.

On June 5, 1928, Ida's father, "Gus" Kohlhass passed away at the age of 74 in San Bernardino, CA. At the beginning of the Great Depression the chicken operation apparently failed and Ida, Gene and Lucille moved into a home on East Highland Avenue near Arrowhead Blvd in San Bernardino.
The 1930 Federal Census shows Margaret living with her son, George Elmer, and granddaughters Donna and Mary Helen at 1189 W. 19th Street in San Bernardino and George's occupation was listed as a Railroad Brakeman. (When George retired he was working as a Conductor on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe passenger trains in Southern California.)

In 1932 Frank sued Ida for divorce but, most likely because of her Catholic faith, she refused to grant it.
For all intents and purposes, for most of her life in San Bernardino, Ida was single mother.
I'm sure she had help from her parents and her brother, but Frank was an absentee father. Legend has it that Frank provided little or no child support
and only rarely visited San Bernardino. (I think my Dad, Gene, felt abandoned during his teen age years. Dad did tell me about a visit by Frank in 1930, where he gave Gene
a Hamilton wrist watch for his 18th birthday. It's the only thing he ever recalled getting from his father.)

I'm sure Ida struggled during the Great Depression. I know she was employed for awhile as a Practical Nurse at St Bernardine's hospital where a number of her grandchildren (including me) would
later be born.Ida with her children, Gene and Lucille, circa 1927.
In August, 1933, Gene married Alice Marie Greeek, a girl from Riverside, CA, that he had met at a high school dance mixer. Alice, who had had Polio as a small child, had a series of operations
to enable her to walk without the aid of leg braces. The final one was in 1930 when she was 18 years old. She, apparently, still thought of herself as a cripple when Gene met her. Legend has it that when
Gene told Ida that his new girl friend was a "cripple", her reply was that it didn't matter if she isn't "crippled in the head".Ida with Mayme Greek, Alice's mother, at Gene and Alice's wedding. Riverside, CA. 15 Aug 1933.A day at the beach with Gene and Lucille. Circa 1934.A day at the beach with Gene and Alice, Lucille and friend (?). Circa 1934.Ida with her first grandchild, Roger Eugene Hill, born 12 Feb 1936.Ida's mother, Margaret (Stolz) Kohlhass, died in San Bernardino, CA, on 7 Apr 1936, at the age of 77.Ida with her family at the beach. August, 1937.
L to R: Roger, Ida, Lucille, and Alice. Jack Davies is hidden behind the newspaper.Ida with her family at the beach. August, 1937.
L to R: Roger, Ida, Lucille and Jack Davies (lying down), and Alice (standing).Ida with her family at the beach. August, 1937. Roger and Lucille.Ida with her family at the beach. August, 1937. Sister-in-law Anne Kohlhaas, Roger and Ida.Ida with grandsons Roger and Richard Sheridan Hill, born 17 Dec 1937.Ida and Lucille in front of Lucille and husband, Jack Davies', home at 2823 Stoddard Ave., San Bernardino, CA.
Lucille is pregnant with her first child, Dennis.
Ida with the Hill and Davies families at the Davie's home on Stoddard Ave. 12 Feb 1939. Back: Jack Davies and Gene; Middle: Lucille, Ida, and Alice; Front: Roger and Richard.Ida with the Hill and Kohlhaas families. 12 Feb 1939. L to R: Alice, Gene holding Richard, Michael "Mickey" Earl McPherson, Roger, Ida, Anne Kohlhaas, Donna (Kohlhaas) McPherson, holding her daughter, Sylvia Lea McPherson. Mike was born 17 Dec 1935, and Sylvia was born 2 Oct 1937.
Roger Hill and Mike McPherson at 3 years old.The family had gathered for Roger's 3rd birthday celebration on 12 Feb 1939. L to R: Sylvia, Roger, Richard, and Mike.Ida with grandsons Roger and Richard Hill and holding grandson Dennis Arthur Davies, born 5 Dec 1939.Ida holding twin grandsons, John Robert and James Allen Hill, born to Gene and Alice on 23 Sep 1940. Richard (L) and Roger Hill are standing in front. Picture taken at George and Anne Kohlhaas' house at 1237 Michael Street in San Bernardino, CA.Ida with her grandsons, the Hill boys, circa 1945 in Los Angeles, CA. L to R: Richard, John, Jim and Roger.Ida with her Davies grandchildren. L to R: Dennis, David Sterling Davies, born 19 Oct 1946, and Barbara Ellen Davies, born 6 Nov 1942. Easter Sunday, 6 Apr 1947.Ida with Alice and Gene and grandsons, Rich, Jim (L) and John. Fontana, 29 Nov 1952.Ida with Gene and Alice and family, Fontana, Christmas, 1954.L to R: Rich, Roger, John, Gene, Alice, and Ida Hill.During the late 1940's and 1950's Frank made periodic visits to the family in San Bernardino. Sometime in the late 1950's
he made the move to California permanent. Ida and Frank lived togetherin a guest house on the property in Bloomington/Fontana owned by daughter Lucille Davies and her family.Ida and Frank, May 1959.Ida with Frank, Alice and Gene Hill, Newport Avenue, Fontana, 2 Apr 1961. Sometime in the mid-fifties, Gene acquired an 8mm movie camera and began to document some of the family events.
I have reformatted some clips from his movies and made them available as HTML5 videos in the Video Vault on this website.
I have assembled clips from Gene's home movies showing scenes of Frank and Ida taken over the years 1955 to 1966. The video starts at Frank and Ida's home in Fontana, CA, that was
located on the property of their daughter, Lucille Davies, and family on Slover Avenue. To see the video click: Frank&Ida.

On 28 May, 1966, Gene's mother, Ida Ellen (Kohlhass) Hill passed away at a nursing home in Ontario, CA.
A year later, on 4 May 1967, his father, Frank Bernard Hill, passed away also in Ontario, CA.
Ida and Frank are buried side by side in plots 690 and 691 in the Grandview Section of Montecito Memorial Park in Colton/San Bernardino, CA.
Ida Ellen (Kohlhass) Hill (1878-1966). I will always remember that twinkle in your eyesAnd much, much, more,
Dear Grandma.

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